In Saudi Arabia, Islam has a strong influence on society and culture, and Arabic has prioritized over English in language education. Thus, when English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is promoted in Saudi public schools, Saudi cultural and religious traditions are balanced with the Ministry of Education’s policy, which emphasizes the practical value of English as a tool for communication, science, and technology. Accordingly, cultural taboos for Muslims have been excluded from EFL classrooms in Saudi Arabia.
Recently, the Saudi government introduced English education at a younger age, and first graders at primary schools started learning English in 2021. This indicates that the government attaches great importance to developing students’ English language competency from early childhood.
In Saudi Arabia, EFL textbooks from international publishers have been edited to produce Saudi editions, which serve as the de facto curriculum. This study therefore focused on these textbooks, comparing an edition of the EFL textbook “We Can!” edited for Saudi Arabia and adopted throughout the country in 2021 with its international counterpart. Students from the first to the fourth grades, who started learning English this year, used these same textbooks.
The Saudi edition deleted cultural events from English-speaking countries, such as Christmas and Halloween, and replaced the foreign and international culture depicted in the international edition with the Saudi local culture and context. Such amended editions
tend to result in patchwork texts without authentic context, making it difficult for Saudi students to develop the intercultural awareness that is essential for language learning. It may be necessary for those familiar with the cultural elements of Islam, Saudi Arabia, Western countries, and other parts of the world to write original EFL textbooks which reflect the Saudi context.
Education in Saudi Arabia, where Islam is the main pillar of the nation, may look far different from that in Japan; however, both countries share common challenges in EFL, such as a wide linguistic distance between their native languages and English, lack of opportunities to use English outside of class, and a low level of proficiency in English among the general population. Today, Saudi Arabia is rapidly transforming its image from that of a closed nation to a country that enjoys entertainment from abroad and welcomes the latest global trends. These ongoing social reforms may bring about the possibility of including the culture of English-speaking and foreign countries in Saudi EFL at primary level. Japanese approaches to editing textbooks, in which many teachers participate, may be helpful when it comes to addressing these issues in the current EFL textbooks of Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Saudi EFL practices, from a country which has taken the lead in introducing English classes as early as the first grade, may benefit Japanese EFL teachers in primary schools.
This study does no more than introduce the current status of EFL in Saudi primary schools based on limited information. It will take more time to confirm the whole picture, considering that the overarching framework of the curriculum based on the newly-adopted textbook has yet to be released. Exploration of the possibilities for bilateral cooperation in this field remains a subject for future study.
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